SAN DIEGO – As many times as he’s been around the football, last week’s pick-six against the Colts was the first interception of the season for 
Third on the team with six passes defensed, Weddle feels like he’s been in position to capitalize on his improved positioning and cover angles this season.
“Geez, I’ve dropped like four of them right in my hands,” Weddle said. “For whatever reason I’ve had issues with it.”
Last week, at his wife’s suggestion, the 5-foot-11, 200-pound free safety began toting a football with him all day, even placing it next to him in bed. During the game, his hands clamped a third-quarter pass from Peyton Manning that he returned 41 yards for a critical score. Weddle decided to continue the exercise indefinitely.
“I think that’s outstanding,” defensive coordinator Ron Rivera said. “It just shows you the guy’s taking it upon himself to do everything he can to get better.”
The secondary intercepted Manning four times last week and has held some good NFL quarterbacks in check. Manning, Tom Brady, Matt Schaub and Kyle Orton sport a 72.8 passer rating against the Chargers this season. San Diego is No. 2 in the league in pass defense, allowing 192.5 yards per game.
How much of that can be attributed to Weddle’s play?
“You’ve got a guy playing center field that’s doing as well as he is, it really helps,” Rivera said. “Obviously you’d love to have the four or five dropped picks he’s had to give you the numbers but just knowing that he’s where he’s supposed to be I think helps tremendously.”
NOT BUYING IT: Oakland running backs Darren McFadden and Michael Bush have carried the ball 23 times for 50 yards against Pittsburgh and Miami in back-to-back losses.
That’s not going to lull San Diego to sleep on a strength of the Raiders team, Head Coach Norv Turner said.
“They ran into two very physical defenses,” he said. “Sometimes some of the statistics are a result of matchups. We’re not going to fall asleep on that. We know they’re a very good running football team. They run the ball at a real high level and we’ve got to be prepared for that.”
McFadden still averages 4.9 yards per carry. Oakland is fifth in the NFL with 139.7 rushing yards per game. Michael Bush, along with Arian Foster, are the only two running backs to gain 100 yards against San Diego’s defense this season.
FORD BLOSSOMS: During the Oct. 10 game, Jacoby Ford remained a kick returner searching for his first NFL catch.
Ford, a 5-foot-9, 185-pound receiver with renowned speed, has 12 catches for 283 yards and a touchdown in Oakland’s last three games.
“Everyone knows he’s an extremely fast, talented young receiver,” Weddle said. “He’s a deeper route runner and can make moves after the catch. We’ve got to know where he is at all times.”
Ford also remains dangerous on kickoffs, having returned two for touchdowns this season. The Chargers held him to 18.2 yards per return on five kickoffs in Week 5 and have made marked improvements on special teams, culminating in the entire kickoff coverage unit receiving game balls last week. San Diego hopes to ensure that trajectory isn’t altered but knows Ford is capable.
“This will be a big, big test for us,” Turner said. “They do a great job of blocking for him. He does a good job of finding the seams.
“He’s also a deep threat. He’s made big plays in the passing game on deep balls. We got away with a couple last week in the passing game. I’m sure the Raiders have taken note of that. We have to be very sharp when he’s in the game.”
PRACTICE WEATHER: Sunny, 62 degrees.
SEATS AVAILABLE: Club seats for Sunday’s game against the Raiders still are available at Qualcomm Stadium.
Less than 4,000 general tickets remain for the Dec. 12 game against division-leading Kansas City as well as less than 1,600 Club seats.
